Caged Hunter
by baby-kitsune9
Summary: he was a sentinel, a watcher, a guardian and cold blooded killer. she was an innocent, a bystander pulled into his dark world of blood and death to be his companion. "are you afraid of me?"he asked. She looked into his eyes and smiled. chaps 1-5 REVAMPED!
1. Chapter 1

Ignorance is your best friend-

* * *

He moved in and out of the alley ways like a ghost, using the cloak of darkness to weave his way through the large city of Kanoha, his dark clothes, face mask and bandana covered hair allowing him to blend with the darkness and become a living shadow. He had been about the city for the past five hours and had completed several of his assignments and eliminated seven people from his list before deciding to take the long way back to his condo, so that he could check out the city night life and let the blood on his clothes dry.

He had been about to dart into another alley when he heard what sounded like a scuffle between two people and got curious. Turning to the left he moved silently into the area where he saw the two people in question, one was a tall muscular dark haired man, and the other was a small, almost child like young girl with long silvery blond hair. He moved in closer to watch, just in case the girl was unable to get away; so that he could lend his assistance if that's what he needed to do.

The girl was trying to pull herself away from the man's grip, but the bear man was refusing to let her go. "I said no. Let go!" The girl said loud enough for him to hear, the bear laughed and yanked her against him and pressed his mouth against hers. She twisted her head away and stomped his foot as hard as she could. Causing him to yelp and strik her.

He winched slightly as the girl went down. _Ow_. He thought as he sighed tiredly, he had been hoping to go home in peace but sadly the brute in front of him needed a lesson in manners. He waited until the man bent down to grab the girl's ankle in his hand and started to drag her back further into the shadows.

He narrowed his mis matched eyes, he knew what happened to young girls when they were dragged into the shadows. He had killed several men for taking their pleasure, and killing their victims. Or worse, leaving them alive to cope with a fate worse than death. This girl would be just like the others if he let things continue. Reaching over to his right upper thigh he pulled a small silvery black blade from his weapon's holster and krept up behind the man as he started to tie and gag the girl.

He would slit the guy's throat, check on the girl and get the hell out of dodge.

He was worried that he might not make it back to his condo before his master tried to call him with his new orders. He got close to the guy, so close that he could peek over his shoulder to see what he was doing as he was reaching for the girl. He slid his blade along the guy's neck with practiced ease, dropping the man before he even realised what he was doing.

Reaching out he pushed against the bear man's shoulder to keep him from falling on top of the girl and dropped down to untie her then vanished, not knowing that he had left behind a clue to his existance.

His wallet had fallen out of his pocket and lay next to his kill.

* * *

okay, that's the first chapter....sort of. in chapter two there will be a brief time skip.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day Shayera was pulling on her school uniform when she happened to glance down at the folded black leather wallet that she had found next to the dead body of her attacker the night before and picked it up and opened it again. The picture of the man staring back at her from the small image was unlike any man she had seen before- _Not that it matters_, she thought as she closed the wallet and stuffed it in her backpack.

She had no idea when the wallet had been lost, but she had had absolutely no desire to spend any more time in the dark alley than was nessesary since the one who had killed her attacker might still be lurking around, maybe looking for his wallet.

And if so she needed to make herself scarce.

Which was why three days later she was using an alternate route to go to school, choosing to stay as far away from _that_ particular alley that she had been in several nights before, as she could.

Today she had chosen to walk by a cafe when she stopped for a second- Something catching her attention as if she were suffering from ADD like most kids her age and looked at the man sitting at one of the tables watching the people on the side walk from behind dark shades. She blinked her violet eyes and frowned, the guy had the most bizzare silver hair she had ever seen. Almost like the guy from... Nah, couldn't be. Could it? She wondered as she looked him over again.

His hair was thick, long and silky looking, falling down around his shoulders to the middle of his back. His skin was a few shades darker than her own. A pale ivory with a subtle hint of a former tan. And his face...it was so beautiful it was stunning, honestly she didn't want to leave.

But she had to or her fathers would worry about her being kidnapped or something and come looking for her.

She sighed and looked at the man and wondered what he was thinking about to make him frown like that. He would be much happier if he smiled. She looked around for a second to see if anyone was paying attention and walked up to him as carefully and quietly as she could, and noticed that he seemed pretty out of it because he didn't even notice her until she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

His head twisted around almost instantly as he jumped to his feet, his chair toppling over as he stood to his full height looking very much like he was ready to kill her.

She blinked and then bent down to pick up his chair, but his hand settled around her wrist stopping her as he glared at her from behind his dark shades. Her mouth went dry and she started to stutter out an apology.

She hadn't meant to startle the poor guy. Honestly one of these days she would really need to work on her impulse control.

"S-Sorry. I was just-" He reached out and placed the finger tips of his free hand under her jaw and her mouth snapped shut automatically and she just stared at him, unsure of what was going to happen next as she silently berated herself. _Good going moron-_

"Why would you approach someone you do not know?" Kakashi asked curiously as he got a good look at the girl that had disturbed him. It was the girl he had saved the other night. Her childlike size and her feminine features along with her scent and the sound of her voice were a dead give away to who she was.

Still he was a bit suprised that he would see her again, much less be kissed on the cheek by her. Which begged the question, Had he been seen by her somehow? Perhaps while he had left her in the alley?

"You looked like you were having a rough day...so I thought I would give you a kiss and make it better." She said lamely, it was incredibly stupid of her to have done such a thing, she knew that but she had always had piss poor impulse control.

"That's a very stupid thing to do." He said lightly, but there was no mistaking the subtle bite to his tone. She bit her lower lip as he picked ip his chair with one hand and let his other one slip from under her jaw.

"Yeah, you're right. Again, sorry." She said weakly, trying to play what had just happened off as a joke as she took a step back away from him. About to leave to go to school like she had been supposed to do originally when his hand shot out and grasped her arm just below her elbow pulling her to a stop as he used his other hand to pull out the chair next to his.

"Sit down." It wasn't a request, she noted. This man was used to giving orders and having them followed to the letter.

She nervously shifted her gaze from his face to the hand on her arm. He waited for a second before forcing his hand to slip from her arm and sat back down and waited for her to join him. A second later- against her good judgement and survival instincts- she was sitting in the chair next to him with her hands folded in her lap, her small teeth chewing on her bottom lip as he picked up a menu and held it across the table.

"Order whatever you would like." He said in somewhat warmer tone almost as if he were trying to coax her into spending a bit more time with him. She carefully took the menu from him and looked it over. She didn't have the money for any of these things. She set the menu down and refolded her hands in her lap.

"Something wrong?" He asked curiously, tilting his head to the side a bit. The beast in him stirring a bit. It must also be curious about this girl.

"I'm sorry but I don't have-" _Time. I don't have time for this. I have to get to school._

Assuming that she meant money Kakashi smiled and said. "I'm buying since your keeping me company."

"Is that why you stopped me from leaving?" She sounded confused as he looked her over, and picked up the menu.

She looked like a chocolate, cinnimon, and peaches sort of girl. There were several different parfait's on the menu that would suit her taste. He found one with vanilla, peaches and cinnimon and smirked. He lifted his hand in the air to get a server's attention and waited patiently for the server to come to his table and ordered the parfait for the her since she seemed so afraid to to do herself.

Once the server was gone he looked at the girl again. His eyes burning with the unnatrual glow of his beast. For once he was glad that he wore shades when he went out during the day.

"What's your name?" He asked curiously. She looked at him and gave him a shy smile as she told him her name.

"Shayera Uzu Naru Uzumaki." _What a lovely name._ Both strong and fragile; just like the girl next to him. He thought as the server brought the item that he had ordered and he put it down in front of Shay.

"Whats your name, Mr..."

"Kakashi Hatake." _Nice to meet you. _Shay thought with a smile as he pushed the parfait across the table until it was in front of her. She mummbled a soft thanks and picked up his unused spoon and was about to take a bite when her cell phone rang. She jumped and nearly dropped the spoon. _Kind of jumpy isn't she? _He thought in amusement as she put the spoon down and pulled her cell phone out of her skirt pocket and flipped it open and cringed as she put it up to her ear.

Her dad didn't sound very happy. "Hi, daddy." She said weakly as the man on the other end yelled loud enough for Kakashi's sensitive ears to pick up his words.

_'Don't you 'hi daddy' me. Where are you? Do you have any idea how worried I was when you didn't get to school on time?!'_ Kakashi reached out and took the phone from her hand and placed his hand over her mouth to quiet her as he put it up to his ear.

"Forgive me, sir. Who am I? I'm the new teacher at Shay's school. Yes, sorry I started last week and I've been helping her study for the up coming exams. Yes, of course. I'll walk her straight to school when we finish studying and straight home this evening as well. Of course, can't wait to meet you too." He pressed the red button and flipped the phone closed and looked at Shay's face, still half hidden behind his hand.

Her violet eyes were wide as saucers, and her face was pale.

He raised a brow at her expresssion. She looked like she was afraid for her very life. Did her father abuse her perhaps? He wondered as he pulled his hand away from her mouth.

"I'm going to die when I get home aren't I?" She asked weakly. He wasn't sure is she was asking the question literally or rhetorically but he did know one thing. He had told her father that he would personally see her home, and he would kill anyone who tried to hurt her, even if that person was her own father.

"Just stick to the story I told him and you'll be fine. I'll drop you off in time for second period and pick you up this evening at four, okay?" He said gently. She nodded mutely.

She was acting like today was her last day on earth. He mused as she ate her parfait and grabbed her school bag and stood up. He made sure to stay several steps behind her as she walked up to the register and liberated his wallet from her bag without her noticing.

He did a quick check to make sure that his credit cards and money were still in place, and checked some of his other things and pocketed the sleek black leather after pulling out some money to pay for their things and followed her out of the cafe. Making sure to keep his hand on her shoulder as they walked so that he wouldn't lose her.


	3. Chapter 3

It was curiosity-he surmised as he walked leaned his shoulder against the willow in the school yard and waited for Shay to appear in the throng of bodies while trying to remain inconspicuous- He was curious about her. And was in direct violation of the line that had been drawn for him by his master. He was never to have contact with someone he had helped, he wasn't to learn their name. Wasn't supposed to speak to them, or ask them questions. Or try and learn what kind of person they were.

He was to keep his distance at all times. Because becoming attached to them was bad.

Because he would never know if he would end up having to kill them tomorrow.

Yet he found himself mysteriously drawn to the Shay since the moment he had jumped to his feet in the cafe and realised that he had just been kissed by one of the people that he had helped. Even if she didn't know it, the irony wasn't lost to him. He wondered what she would say if she knew that he was a killer. Would she give him that shy smile again?

He doubted it, but he would love to be wrong. Shay walked out of the red brick building and looked around for him for a second as he straightened to his full height. And the second their eyes met he suddenly felt as if he had been punched in the gut. All of the air simply left his lungs as she walked over to him and he took her backpack like he had earlier that morning and slung it over one broad shoulder.

"Ready?"

He made a humming sound and glanced down at her just for a second as she started to lead him away from her school, and was tempted to pull her into the nearest dark alley and see for himself just what kind of person she really was. Would she look at him like a monster? Break down and cry? Beg for her life?

He wanted to know. _And if she didn't? If she accepted him, bloody hands, flaws and all? _What would he do then?

He wanted to know because maybe it might be nice to have someone to comfort him for once, a companion to come home too. To live and die for. She reminded him of the things that others had, his brothers and sisters back home in the wilderness. Each of them had a companion, some of them even had children.

And while he was happy to know that they had found their safe haven, at the same time he envied them. He had been looking for his companion for years, and had come up empty. Dishearted he had started to think that maybe he was simply undeserving of a companion.

He looked to the left and was so tempted to do something terrible to her that his palms itched. He had to keep reminding himself that she was a child and undeserving of bearing the brunt of whatever issues he needed to work out. He wasn't a brute after all. Nor was he such a monster that he would harm an innocent just because she reminded him of his petty jealousy's.

"How much further?" He asked curiously.

Shay looked over her shoulder at him and pointed to the red brick house just up ahead.

It was a cozy little place, just a little bigger than the home that he had grew up in as a boy. The yard was only a bit bigger than the house and had several flower beds a bird bath, a small half wrap around porch with a swing on it. His lips tilted up in a smile, he could easily imagine Shay laying on her back on the swing sunning herself like a cat on a nice day.

He walked up the steps behind her and watched as Shay reached out to open the door when it swung open and a very cross looking man with long brown hair and a scar across the bridge of his nose stepped out, Shay stummbled and would have fallen on her butt if Kakashi hadn't reached out and slipped one of his arms around her and redirected her momentum so that she fell against him instead of falling down the steps behind him.

The dark haired man smirked at Shay, making Kakashi frown.

The man had such a devious look on his face. "Well, introduce me to your teacher Shay-Shay." The man said as his body slowly relaxed, ah so he was _that_ kind of person. The kind that he had been warned about by his brothers and sisters. The sneaky kind.

Shay looked up at him and blushed at the position that she was currently in, her head resting against Kakashi's stomach while he was doubled over with his hands firmly on her back, though the touch was light, and his face...was so close to hers that she could feel heat of his breath on her face. She made a funny little _'Eep_' sound and with Kakashi's help pushed upright so that she was standing again.

"Uh, daddy. This is Mr. Hatake, my new teacher." The brunette smiled at him as he straitened to his full height to tower over the man, by about a foot and three inches.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you Mr. Hatake. Would you like to come in?" The man asked politely as he grasped Shay's wrist in his hand and pulled her closer to him. It was subtle but his stance clearly screamed possessive, protectiveness.

He was trying to warn Kakashi off. _Fuck that- _Kakashi thought as he narrowed his eyes at the man from behind his shades.

Kakashi gave him an equally devious look, making it brief before he smirked and said, "That would be wonderful, thank you." Leaving the man gaping at him for a moment as he brushed by him. Of course he knew that the invitation was faked politeness, the guy wanted to be alone with Shay so that he could punish her, and Kakashi wasn't feeling all that inclined to leave him alone with her until he got a good feel for the his character. Father or not.

The man moved aside and pushed Shay inside of the house and waited for Kakashi to walk in after her before closing the door.

Kakashi followed Shay down the short hall to the living room and looked around as she stripped off her back pack and dropped into a seat across the room, next to a large book shelf that was leaning against the wall. It must have been her favorite spot in the entire house due to the easy access to the books lining the shelf. There were some pictures lining the wall to his left, pictures of Shay as a young girl of ten. All the way up to the age she was now. He counted a picture for each year and frowned when he couldn't find any baby pictures of her.

Didn't parents usually take pictures of their young ones early on? The man walked into the living room and stopped beside Kakashi. "Would you like something to drink Hatake?"

"No, I'm fine." Kakashi said politely as he sat down in the chair close to Shay and carefully took note of how many escape routs there were. Seven in all. Not many but it was enough. He heard the faint sounds of a car pulling up into the drive way and a car door closing.

"Mmm, looks like your father is home Shay." Shay jumped to her feet and ran to greet the one opening the door down the hall.

"Hey baby, where you been-ooff!" There was a dull thud of something heavy hitting the floor just inside the door followed by laughter. Kakashi turned his head slightly to look down the hall and noticed that the dark haired man was smiling faintly. Shay had two fathers? How odd.

A slightly taller brunette than the one standing next to him walked down the hall with Shay slung over his shoulder laughing. "Hey honey, look what I found." The guy said cheerfully as he poked Shay in the side causing her to giggle.

"Yes, you found our stray daughter at our front door." The scarred man said in wary amusment as the other guy put Shay down and kissed the rude man on the cheek before looking at Kakashi and letting his jaw drop. Holy ever loving hell, the silver haired man sitting in the small recliner was one of the most beautiful men he had ever seen.

"Oh my god, did you bring him home, Ruka?"

"No."

"Did Shay bring him home with her?" The guy asked in shock, the one he guessed was named Ruka shrugged. Shay turned pink. _Oh god here it comes._ She thought as Genma turned to Kakashi and offered his hand as he introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Genma; Shay's other dad and you would make the perfect son in law." Kakashi felt his face heat up as he glanced at Shay, she looked absolutely mortified.

"Uh, thanks. I think." Kakashi said as he gave Shay a 'couldn't you have warned me' look as he let his hand fall back to his lap. His visit with Shay's parents seemed to go much better after that. By the time he left to go do his work he had silently sworn to himself to swing back by the house later that night and check on Shay's well being.


	4. Chapter 4

It was about three thirty in the morning when Kakashi found himself standing outside Shay's bedroom window, he could see her laying half on and half off of the bed in her soft royal blue satin shirt that was much too big for her slender frame.

Her head hung off of the end of the bed and there were head phones over her ears, she must have fallen asleep listening to music. Looking down at himself he saw the dried blood on his gloved hands and wondered if this was the wisest thing to do. But for some unknown reason he couldn't seem to stop himself from picking the lock on her window and slipping inside of her room to look around.

She had books scattered around the floor in the corner of her room next to a light red bean bag chair. Bending down he picked one up and studied the picture on the front. _Oh_. It looked like Shay enjoyed reading erotic novels as much as he did. How interesting.

He pocketed the book so that he could read it later and walked across the room to stand over Shay as she slept. Reaching down he started to slip one of his hands under her head so that he could move her down a bit so that her head would be resting on the mattress and stopped when he realised that he hadn't washed the blood off of his hands.

He stared at them for a second before deciding to leave when Shay stirred slightly and opened her eyes, acting on instinct he quickly placed his hand over her mouth to silence her when she screamed, the frightened sound muffled behind his hand as she tried to get his hand off of her. _Shit. _He thought in irritation as he quickly pinned her thrashing body to the mattress and leaned over to whisper to her, to tell her that he wasn't going to hurt her as she stilled.

"Shhh, I'm not here to hurt you." He whispered gently as she breathed in and out, the automatic action drawing his attention to her chest as she swallowed convulsively.

He could see the frantic beating of her heart in her neck as it pushed blood through her veins. He licked his lips as she mouthed his name against his palm. He stiffened slightly, his body tensing even more and he slowly, cautously removed his hand from her mouth just in case she decided to scream again.

"Kakashi, is that you?" She asked curiously as he leaned down to hear her voice, she was speaking so softly.

He nodded his head making some of his silver hair fall over his shoulders. He shifted his weight so that he wasn't sitting right on top of her any more and let her sit up while remaining in reaching distance.

The first thing that he noticed when she sat up was that her shirt had ridden up to her thighs giving him a small glimpse of the deep blue panties that she wore before she yanked her shirt down to cover herself more modestly. He smiled in the darkness. For some ridiculous reason it pleased him to know that she was on some level aware of him as a virile male.

"What are you doing here?" Shay asked as she turned to look at him.

He tilted his head to the left a bit and studied her in the dim moonlight. "I came to check on you." He said gently. She frowned at him. Check on her? It looked more like he was sneaking into her room and scaring the hell out of her.

"Why would you check on me?" And why so late? She wondered as he moved back a bit, his eyes never leaving him.

"I was worried." It wasn't a lie, he had been worried but for reasons that he didn't dare name. He knew that he was becoming attached to her, and that he should have simply kept on walking past the house a few minutes ago but...

He was lonely. Oh god he was lonely.

So much so that he couldn't bear the thought of walking past her house without breaking in to see her after his latest kill.

"Kakashi, why were you worried?" He shrugged, the expression on his face almost comical in the dark. He wasn't about to admit that he had stopped by to check on her because of his own weaknesses. He wasn't about to give her something that she could use against him, to try and control him.

He was crazy not stupid.

Shay sighed tiredly. "Does my presence here bother you?" Kakashi asked all of a sudden, he still wanted to know what kind of person Shay was.

She looked at him and frowned. Did his precense here bother her? That was sort of a stupid question considering that she had only fallen asleep an hour ago and was completely exhausted. Thank god tomorrow was a weekend and there was no school.

"No, your presence doesn't bother me. I'm just tired." She said with a small smile, he nodded his head and shifted closer to her and reached out.

One quick test.

One quick test of her character and he would know if he should stay away from her for good or if he could keep her.

He wanted to keep her so badly his chest ached. He wrapped his fingers around her throat as he topppled her over onto her back on the bed and straddled her hips again, keeping his grip on her neck as tight as he dared so that she would feel enough fear to be honest when he asked her his questions.

He watched as her eyes widened and she tried to gasp for air, but he was subtly and slowly crushing her wind pipe. He waited until her struggles became weakened before he let up on the amount of pressure he was placing on her neck. She took several deep breathes and coughed as she stared up at him with worried eyes.

"Are you afraid of me?" Kakashi asked gently, his eyes burning from the glow of his inner beast as he stared down at her, waiting for her reply as she felt a chill go down her spine. He was acting like he hadn't just almost strangled her with his bare hands.

_It's a test._ She realised as she felt his fingers digging into her neck again. She let her hands fall away from his wrist and shoulder and just lay there for a second before she smiled. _Yes_, she was afraid but of dying. Not of him.

He was far too kind natured to kill her in cold blood without a reason.

She looked him right in the eye and lifted one hand and put it against the side of his face and smiled. "Not one little bit." She said softly, expecting him to start squeezing again, instead he swore and grasped the front of her night shirt and yanked her upright and pressed his mouth against hers in what could only be described as an achingly tender kiss and then vanished across the room and out her window and into the night.

Shay sat on her bed with her fingertips against her lips, feeling as if she were suddenly drowning. What the hell had that been about? She wondered as she went over everything in her mind.

She had recognized the test Kakashi had put her through because she could tell that he had never really meant her harm to begin with. What she didn't understand was the reason behind the kiss. And just what kind of fellow broke into a girl's room at three something in the morning anyways?


	5. Chapter 5

_**Acceptance**_- It was such a rare thing in his world. And yet that was all he had seen in her eyes when she had touched him and smiled. Even after he had choked her, after he had tried to make her fear him through slow suffocation. She still hadn't been afraid of him. _But she should be_. God yes she should be, but it seemed that _his _little Shay didn't have the common sense that god had given to a flea.

She probably wouldn't look at him any differently if he showed up in her room soaked in blood and body tissues.

_Damn foolish girl._ He thought as he paced back and forth. Oh fuck this was wrong.

He had looked everywhere for a companion, had longed for one for so long, ever since he was a child under going his training as an assassin and she had been here in Kanoha the whole fucking time. And now that he had found her he didn't know what he should do next. He was starting to panic. His companion was a small slip of a girl. A kind, compassionate, clever, funny and _pure_ female that if he stayed close too would become _tainted_ by the blood he shed each night.

He wasn't sure he could stomach the thought of Shay losing her sweetness and innocence because of him. Because of his job. He could give it all up, cut his ties to his clan, but if he did they might send someone out to eliminate him. And Shay...would die begging for him to save her.

He squeezed his eyes closed and dropped down on the edge of his bed and buried his face in his hands. Even though he knew that, he couldn't bear to part with her.

The pain, doubt and guilt he was feeling at that moment were eating away at his heart and mind.

Pain, because if he decided to keep her even though he may not be able to offer her a future. Doubt, because he was uncertain if he could protect her if he left the clan. And guilt, because she would lose the very light and innocence that drew him so helplessly to her.

_I need to see her._ He thought as he stood and froze after taking a step.

He had just left there, and even if he tried to explain things to her he doubted that she would understand. So what should he do then? He took several deep breathes in an effort to calm himself down so that he could think. First thing was first, he had to make her aware of his intentions toward her. Then he would court her. And after that?

He didn't...really know but he would do whatever it took to keep her close to him.

He sighed, suddenly feeling more tired than he had in years and let himself sink down into a chair next to the door and stared out the window until dawn. After which he took a shower, shaved and changed then left his condo to go see his companion.

* * *

After a quick stop by Shayera's school and a little breaking and entering to get his hands on her transcripts, grades, detention's and such he found himself sitting on a park bench a little ways from her house pouring over her papers. Her grades weren't perfect, but they weren't bad either. She had glowing recommendations from many of her teachers. Had gotten detention seventy six times, mostly for running in the halls or for something equally stupid.

And had a juvenile record longer than his arm. _Good god _what did his Shay do when she was alone? He wondered as he took a moment or so to weigh the pro's and con's of finding out. On one hand there was the con- _I may have to kill her after all depending on the nature of her crimes._ Then there was the pro- _I get_ _to know her better._

Fun, fun, fun!

Flipping the file open he started off at the beginning. Shay as it turns out was an orphan that had lived on the street for some time when she was smaller so much of her record was a record of her survival tactics. It started off with some breaking and entering, a little vandalism, she broke a football players knee caps with a crow bar at a youth center after being adopted... Wait. What?

He blinked and re read that part several times just mildly surprised that his Shay would do such a thing, but found the note attached to that piece of information and finally figured out why she would have done such a thing.

It would appear that the one she had wounded, had put one of her little girlfriends in the hospital. And Shay had responded in kind and had not only put him in the hospital as a warning, but had ruined his chances of ever playing football again. He let out a low whistle and made a mental note not to get on her bad side.

He had been sitting there learning everything that he could when he heard Shay's voice a few feet away ordering an ice cream cone from the vender that had taken up residence behind him. Quickly and carefully he put the papers and files away in the bag that he carried his lap top in and stood up to go see his girl.

She had just taken a lick of her ice cream cone and let her eyes close in pleasure. Oh man, home made peaches and cream iced cream fucking rocked. She thought as she opened her eyes so that she could start walking and ended up face to chest with Kakashi. "Yo." He said in a deceptively lazy tone as he smiled down at her.

Shay made a soft squeaking sound as she looked at him.

He chuckled and grasped her wrist and leaned down to take a bite of her cone. His mis matched eyes never leaving her pretty face as he sank his teeth into the icy cold treat. Tasteing the peaches in heavy cream, with the slightest hint of vanilla. Yup she was a peaches kind of girl, he was never wrong.

"Hey, I wanted that!" Shay finally said when she managed to finally find her tongue.

He smiled at her and licked the ice cream from his lips like a big cat. "Well if you really wanted it that badly, I suppose that I could be persuaded to give it back to you." He purred as he reached out and wrapped an arm around her slender waist and pulled her against him, and lowered his head to press his mouth against hers. Gently running his cold tongue along her lower lip untill she opened up for him.

_This is odd._ Shay thought as he kissed her. It wasn't much different from the quick kiss he had given her last night, but then again it sort of was. There was more feeling behind the kiss. More..._something_... He was teasing her, and in his own wierd way he was trying to apologize for what he had done last night. He broke the kiss after a few minutes so that he could study her expression.

She had the most scandalised look on her face. "So I guess this means that your feeling better and haven't come to finish me off?" She asked warily.

He gave her a strange look and reached out to run his knuckles across her cheek. "I would never hurt you Shayera." _Because you're mine. _He thought possessively. She gave him an 'uh-huh, I totally beleive you' look and he sighed. Damn, now he would have to prove himself during their courtship to prove to her that he meant her no harm.

"If that was true you wouldn't have put your hand around my neck last night." He visibly flinched. Or maybe it was a cringe? It was hard to tell.

"Sorry, I wasn't exactly myself."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just giving you a hard time." She said as she licked her ice cream. Her eyes going to his face. She knew that he was sorry for what he had done the night before because of the way he looked at her, and she could hear it in his voice when he spoke. He wanted to apologize for what he had done but he probably didn't know how to.

Kakashi just sort of came off as the sort of person who didn't say "I'm sorry" in a typical way. And that was something that she could understand.

He glanced at her and thought for a second. What could he do to show her that he wouldn't do such a thing again? "Would you like to go somewhere?" He asked as he stuffed his hands in his pants pockets. She gave him a comical, 'no way' look and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. Okay, so that was a no.

"Wouldn't that be like tempting fate?" She asked around another lick of her ice cream. He shrugged his broad shoulders and grasped her wrist again and took another bite of the frosty cold treat just to see the look on her face as he said honestly,

"It would be more like tempting fate if you refused." He licked his lips as he turned his head to look at her, and she took a quick automatic step back away from him. Kakashi gave her a narrow eyed look and followed her movement then matched it with his own. Watching the way her eyes widened slightly in alarm as she took another step back.

"What are you going to do to me if I try running?" She asked stupidly. He gave her a slow sexy smile that made her heart do a wierd little flip flop in her chest.

"I think the better question would be, do you really think I'll give you a chance to run?" Shay looked at him then turned her head to look at the path leading out of the park. On a hot and humid day like today the damn thing would be packed with people. So that way was out. Turning her head a little to the left she eyeed the treeline and Kakashi wondered if she would actually try to make a run for it.

True there were less people in that direction, but that meant nothing to someone who could run at inhuman speeds. "Pick Shayera-" He said quietly, calling her attention back to him. Shay sighed and walked over to the nearest trash can and dropped her ice cream into it then returned and said in a sullen tone,

"Fine. I'll give you two hours. But after that, we go our seperate ways."

"Okay, two hours." He could charm the pants right off of her in two hours, he was sure of it.


	6. Chapter 6

Shay was quiet as she walked with Kakashi to his car, her mind buzzing with questions like; _What is he up too? Where are we going?_ and the ever popular,_ Will I make it home alive?_ Finally unable to bear the silence anymore she asked in a cautious tone, "Where are we going?" Kakashi glanced at her and gave her a sly, sexy smile that made her heart do a flip flop in her chest.

Like he was really going to tell her before they got in the car and started on their way. Silly girl. Did she know nothing of courtship?

"You'll know when we get there Shay." Was all he said as he led her over to a sleek black corvette and opened the passenger side door for her and then waited for her to climb in.

Shayera eyed the car suspiciously as she bit her bottom lip and looked around at the people in the park. They were at least forty feet or more away. And with the noise level of the sports players there was a good chance that even if she screamed no one would hear her. But that didn't mean no one wouldn't see her... They just wouldn't reach the car in time to keep it from peeling out into the street with her in it.

And as much as she had doubts right now. She would have to just trust Kakashi not to do anything- _unsavory_- to her person while she was with him. But even so, she couldn't stop herself from thinking; _Come on Shay, he wants you to trust him. He's even going to great lengths to play nice and make you feel safe with him. Why? _

"Don't over think it Shayera," Kakashi said gently as he moved away from the car and grasped her wrist lightly in his hand and pulled her closer to him. "Either get in the car or don't. Regardless I'll have my two hours of time with you." He said, his tone still gentle.

He didn't want to do anything to spook her more than she already was.

She looked up at him with those stunningly beautiful eyes of hers and used the tip of her tongue to wet her lips before saying, "Sorry Kashi, I froze up because of instinct." It was a half truth, Kakashi knew this and narrowed his eyes at her slightly. Yet let the half truth slip as if it hadn't been heard at all.

"That's alright Shayera," He said with what he hoped was a charming smile and was startled when Shay made a comical face at him and tried to move away before asking.

"Has anyone told you that you look like an ax murderer when you smile like that?"

He blinked, a reply on the tip of his tongue... Then it was gone. Was that mortification he felt? He took a moment to access the feeling and study it before his mind all but yelled, _Yes! It is! It is mortification!_

"Uh, no... Is it that bad?" He asked as he abruptly released her wrist.

She nodded her head slowly and he snapped his fingers and swore then half turned away from her and pulled a book out of his bag and flipped it open and ran his index finger along one of the pages before quickly snapping the book shut again and growling, "This damn thing is useless." as he started to tear pages out of it.

_Like a child throwing a tantrum. _Shay thought as he suddenly stopped and cleared his throat, his face tinged with a light flush from embarrassing himself. "Sorry," Kakashi said before continuing on. "This isn't how I expected us to spend time together. I wanted to do something to make up for last night. For any fear you may have felt." He admitted as he rubbed one arm through his shirt sleeve and bowed his head, his long silver hair falling over his shoulder.

Shay sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers and glared at him for a second. Great. Another person trying to guilt trip her into doing what they want. Like she didn't get enough of that at home. Dropping her arm she moved closer to the car and patted him on the shoulder as she climbed in and buckled her seat belt, feeling as if a lead weight had just settled in her gut.

She wasn't sure this was wise. But she would give him a chance at least.

She gave him a forced smile as he quietly closed the car door and tried to squash down the feeling of panic that was starting to settle in as Kakashi climbed into the car and fastened his seat belt and started the car. "So you really aren't going to tell me where we're going?" She tried again.

Kakashi laughed softly at her antics and shook his head no as he pulled out onto the street. "You'll just have to wait Shay. You'll just have to wait..."


	7. Chapter 7

Kakashi's car pulled up in front of a ritzy looking boutique on the East side of town. Close to eight miles from the park. And even further from her home. Shayera glanced over at the silver haired whirlwind that had recently come into her life and wondered what they were doing here of all places. When he shut off the car and suddenly reached over and placed his palm against her cheek.

Startling her slightly and causing her to twitch as her eyes met his through his sunglasses.

He gave her a small smile and gently rubbed the pad of his thumb along the curve of her cheek and said, "You have such lovely features. Very fine and delicate..." Then dropped his hand and drew back from her and took one of her hands in his and said cheerfully, "Come. I want to treat you to something nice." Then he lifted her hand to his lips, his eyes never leaving her face as he kissed her knuckles.

Making her flush to the roots of her hair.

_W-What the hell? _She thought as she tried to pull her hand away only to have him tighten his grip slightly and narrow his eyes at her and growl softly, "_Stop that._ Even if I let you go- You must know by now that there is no where I would not follow you."

"Yeah I got that, but-"

"No 'buts' Shayera. You can't escape me, so you might as well make the best of this situation. Let me dote on you and do what I must. Who knows, you may come to like me and my doting."

"You sound like a dirty old man..."

Kakashi chuckled and reluctantly let her hand go. He did sound like a dirty old man, didn't he? He mused as he reached for the door handle, "Come on. There's something I want to do for you here. Then I want to buy you some new makeup and take you out for dinner. How does that sound?"

Shay's jaw went slack for a moment before she started to sputter in disbelief. "Sounds about as much fun as having a hole drilled in my head." She snapped, bristling slightly. He was acting like she was one of those loose women with little to no respect for themselves; _the bastard! _

Kakashi looked at her with a slightly sad expression on his face for a moment before sitting back in his seat and dropping his hand away from the door handle and sighing. "Well perfect..." He said more to himself than her. He didn't know what was going on here. One minute she was totally placid and the next she looked like she wanted to rip his head off.

Was he doing the courtship ritual wrong?

He had read up on it the night before using things like magazines and the internet, but the information he had gleaned from his sources of information- girls liked being treated like princesses. They pretty much stayed in the, 'keep me in pretty things' phase.

They liked beautiful clothing and jewelry. They enjoyed being spoiled and loved having a handsome guy take care of them.

So then why did Shayera seem so irritated with him? He was simply following the courtship rituals that he had read about the night before. Sighing, he wondered if he should simply take her home when she suddenly opened the car door and got out and leaned down a bit to look at him for a moment before asking, "Well, are you coming?"

He looked at her with a puzzled look on his face, then frowned. "Of course." He said lightly as he opened his car door and climbed out and shut the door.

"Which store are we going in?"

"The boutique."

"Well alright then. Lead the way."


	8. Chapter 8

They walked into the store, Shayera leading him- Causing the door to give off a loud tinkling chime that Kakashi found himself irritated with as he walked into the boutique. Pausing briefly to lift a hand over his head and stop the bell from chiming again by using his fingernails to cut through the chord so that the bell was made more or less useless as he stepped out of the doorway and turned his head to where Shayera was.

His little Shay was walking through the store, quietly browsing the clothing racks until she came across a neon pink chiffon dress with ruffles- At which point she blanched a little bit and hissed at the dress like a cat before continuing on.

He found a nice place against the wall to lean that was out of the doorway and stood there watching her as she moved. And while Shayera didn't have the sort of grace his kind had, yet she still moved so quietly. So gracefully for one without training.

He could have stood there all day and simply watched her walk around- truely he could have- unfortunately Shayera had other ideas when she suddenly stopped browsing and made a beeline for the door. Caught off guard, Kakashi stood there observing up until the point when she reached for the door. At which point he shoved away from the wall and practically lunged across the shop to where she was and grabbed her by the wrist.

Effectively stopping her from leaving the shop.

"What's wrong?" He asked curiously as she slowly turned her head to stare up at him. Her expression somewhat, well- _irked_.

Shay was silent for several heartbeats before all but growling, "To many frills and too much lace. I'd rather have a limb amputated than wear something from here." Kakashi blinked in surprise at the vehemence in her tone. Was wearing something feminine and frilly really that bad? He wondered as he looked over some of the stuff hanging in the store.

It didn't look bad, not from his perspective anyways. In fact he'd easily pay to see Shay in some of the frilly, lacy stuff. But if she was so against it then he supposed that he would have to settle for seeing her in something simple yet elegant. Maybe something in a silvery whiteish color or a blue or red or black.

Possibly with a halter top and a nice empire waist...

"Tell you what, go pick out several pieces of jewelry and let me know the colors and _I'll_ pick out a nice dress without any frills or lace." Kakashi said with a little grin as he spun her around in place so that she was facing the counter several feet away then used the palm of one hand to gently nudge her in that direction before she could even open her mouth to argue.

Shayera took several steps away from the door and growled at the thought of being in the store for longer than five more seconds. For all she knew Satan lived and breathed in this damn shop and was trying to get her to sell her soul just to escape his evil clutches! But the thought of Kakashi picking out several nice dresses for her to look over proved too much of a chance for some much needed entertainment for her to simply ignore.

But that didn't stop her from silently swearing to heap bloody vengence upon Kakashi's unexpecting head if she _actually_ had to sell her soul just to leave.

After ten minutes of looking at the impressive jewelry selection and picking a pale purple amethyst with a deep purple dangling down from the silver setting, a pair of garnet and pearl dangle earrings, but in the end she settled for a pair of delicate looking silver dangles with intricate gold scroll work on them. Smiling to herself, she absently shifted from one place to another- peering at the earrings from every angle in an effort to make a decision.

Kakashi, noticing the movements from across the store and with his superior eyesight caught a faint glimpse of what she was looking at and smiled. Silver. She liked silver.

Walking over to a rack with silver colored dresses, a small smile tugging at his lips, Kakashi hummed softly as he started to go through the dresses until he found a lovely form fitting mermaid dress with a loose flowing skirt that would fall down to her ankles. And knew that it would look absolutely _beautiful_ on her.

Now all she needed was shoes, the earrings she was more or less drooling over and maybe a nice necklace to match. Then all she would need is some makeup, a pretty berry or pink color lipstick for her lips, a nice color for her fingernails and maybe some light pink and berry colors for her eyelids and Shay would be one of the most beautiful young women any one person had ever seen.


End file.
